PRIME TUTORIAL CLASSES
Landscape to Soul Summary Class 11 English
Summary of Landscape to Soul
Landscape to Soul summary will help you learn about this chapter in a very simple and easy
manner. This chapter comprises two parts and Nathalie Trouveroy is the author. The author has
taken the first part from the ‘Landscape of the Soul: Ethics and Spirituality in Chinese Painting’
whereas the second part has been derived from “Getting Inside ‘Outsider Art’.” Getting Inside is
an article that was published in the Hindustan Times in 2005. It is written by Brinda Suri. The
main theme of the chapter is about the arts. It revolves around the art of painting told through the
help of various stories. We learn about Chinese painters and their works as well as the story behind
them. Similarly, the second part explores the concept of ‘art brut’ meaning the art of the ones who
have no right. Thus, we learn a great deal about art and its history.
The Theme of the Chapter
This chapter’s ideology teaches you the value of imagination and how different painters perceive
the world. The art form does not have to be viewed via a single lens; there are numerous ways to
imagine a single painting. The author attempts to demonstrate a comparison of various art genres
based on regions in ancient times. The author compares Chinese and European art by telling two
anecdotes about Chinese art and one about European art. Europeans want exact replicas, whereas
art is the essence of life and energy in Asia. Understanding Chinese art necessitates the viewer’s
active participation, both physically and mentally. The lesson also helps readers comprehend how
realistic the paintings were and how beautifully they were all produced.
Character List in Landscape to Soul Class 11 English
● Wu Daozi – was a painter who flourished in the 8th century and was commissioned by the
then-emperor Xuangxon to create a landscape picture.
● Quinten Metsis – was a talented blacksmith who fell in love with the daughter of a painter.
He knew he wouldn’t be accepted by the girl’s father, so he painted a fly to get acceptance as
an apprentice at the studio.
● Landscape to Soul Summary in English
This chapter divides into two parts, each telling us about art and its history through various stories.
In the part taken from ‘Landscape of the Soul: Ethics and Spirituality in Chinese Painting’, we
learn about the art of painting through two stories. The first one is about a very popular Chinese
painter, Wu Daozi. It is about the eighth century when he was hired by the Tang Emperor
Xuanzong to adorn a wall of the palace.
Wu painted beautiful scenery with mountains, waterfalls, forests as well as clouds and blue skies
with people living harmoniously in a happy environment. However, he painted a cave at the foot of
a mountain that was inhabited by a spirit. Only the Emperor could see the master’s work because it
was hidden behind a screen. When the painter was showing his work to the emperor, he made the
Emperor gaze at a cave at the bottom of the mountain in the image and relate it to a real spirit. The
painter clapped his hands, and the cave’s entrance opened. The painter entered the cave, but the
door closed behind him, and the picture vanished from the wall before the Emperor could move or
say anything. There was no sign of Wu Daozi’s brush, and the artist was never seen again in this
world.
Thus, after disappearing, the author says that denotes the knowledge of the mystical inner world.
Thus, it says that only the masters are aware of the way within and can go yonder any material
form. Similarly, the second story is about a painter who believed in art’s mysteries and spiritual
magic. His faith in his art was so strong and potent that he was terrified of bringing it to life and
falling prey to a fire-throwing dragon.
Next, we have the third one about a Master Blacksmith, Quinten Metsys, who falls in love with the
daughter of a painter. As the father was not accepting of his son-in-law belonging to such a
profession, he still did so. So Quinten crept into the painter’s workshop and painted a fly on his
most recent panel with such deft realism that the master sought to swat it away before realizing
what had happened. It had such gentle realism that it resembled a real one. These two stories
demonstrate what each style of art aims for: a perfect, illusionistic resemblance in Europe, and the
essence of inner life and spirit in Asia.
Further, the author also talks about Chinese philosophy, Shanshui, meaning mountain water. This
universe, according to Daoism, is made up of two complementary poles: Yin (feminine) and Yang
(masculine) (masculine). The cosmos is created by the interaction of these two energies. A landscape
is referred to as “Shanshui” in Daoism. However, it does not depict a genuine landscape; rather, it
depicts the Daoist vision of the universe.
Finally, the second part of ‘Getting Inside ‘Outsider Art’ by Brinda Suri talks about the concept of
‘art brut’. Art Brut translates to the art of the ones who have ‘no right’ to be artists. It is because
they lack any formal training yet somehow possess artistic talent and insight. She refers to them as
the ones who think outside the box and defy the normal standards. People refer to their work as
‘unorthodox’ art. In the 1940s, French painter Jean Dubuffet questioned the concept of ‘art brut.’
Prior to that, the art of the untrained visionary was of secondary importance. Around the same
period, “an untrained genius was constructing paradise.” She cites the example of Nek Chand’s
work at Rock Garden in Chandigarh as a form of art brut.
Question 1: What is the distinction between Chinese and European art?
Answer 1: Chinese and European art vary in that European art strives for a perfect, illusionistic
likeness, but Chinese art seeks to capture the essence of inner life and spirit in Asia. The Chinese
landscape painting is a depiction of the artist’s thoughts rather than a reflection of actual sight.
Western painting is a visual and realistic art form in Europe. The European painter paints a
landscape to depict a specific scene in the landscape, whereas the Chinese painter does not select a
specific viewpoint.
Question 2: What do the terms ‘outsider art,’ ‘art brut,’ or ‘raw art’ mean to you?
Answer 2: ‘Outsider Art’ is art created by untrained artists, such as youngsters or mentally ill
people. ‘Art Brut’ or ‘Raw Art’ is a type of art created by non-professionals who make an art piece
with their own depth and understanding rather than from a stereotypical form of classical or
fashionable art.
Question 3: Explain the Chinese philosophy of Shanshui.Answer 3: Shanshui art is not a normal
painting. To begin, when Chinese artists work on a painting, they did not attempt to depict an
image of what they have seen in nature, but rather what they have imagined about nature.
Shanshui painting is done entirely with ink and a brush. Rivers, mountains, and waterfalls stand
out in this art form. It introduces the notions of “yang” and “yin.” Yang is stable, dry, warm,
vigorous, and manly; it is vertical. Yin is horizontal; it is the earth’s water, fluid, chilly, and wet. It
is a comprehensive understanding of Daoism
Anecdote : a short entertaining story about a real incident or person.
delicate realism : intricately accurate and true to life.
figurative painting : representing by means of a figure or symbol in the painting.
illusionistic likeness : a similarity which is almost real.
conceptual space : an abstract idea of a space.
UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT
1. i) Contrast the Chinese view of art with the European view with examples.
Ans. Chinese paintings take an imaginative, inner, or spiritual approach, whereas European
paintings depict an actual view of an external or physical thing.
For example, A wonderful old tale is told about the painter Wu Daozi, who lived in the eighth
century. His last painting was a landscape commissioned by the Tang Emperor Xuanzong, to
decorate a palace wall. The master had hidden his work behind a screen, so only the Emperor
would see it.
Similarly, the second part explores the concept of ‘art brut’ meaning the art of the ones who have
no right.
(ii) Explain the concept of shanshui.
Ans. Whereas, in China, the artist doesn’t paint a real one but uses his inner and spiritual voice to
create an abstract piece. The viewer can enter the painting from any point and can travel according
to his own imagination. The artist wants the viewer to enter his mind and create a path of its own.
This concept is called ‘Shanshui’ which means ‘mountain water’. When they are used together, they
make the word ‘landscape’.. More than two elements of an image, these represent two
complementary poles, reflecting the Daoist view of the universe. The mountain is Yang reaching
vertically towards Heaven, stable, warm, and dry in the sun, while the water is Yin horizontal and
resting on the earth, fluid, moist and cool. The interaction of Yin, the receptive, feminine aspect of
universal energy, and its counterpart Yang.
2. (i) What do you understand by the terms outsider art and ‘art brut’ or ‘raw art’?
Ans. The notion of ‘art brut’ or ‘raw art’, was of works that were in their raw state as regards
cultural and artistic influences. Anything and everything from a tin to a sink to a broken down car
could be material for a work of art, something Nek Chand has taken to dizzying heights.
Recognising his art as “an outstanding testimony of the difference a single man can make when he
lives his dream”, the Swiss Commission for UNESCO will be honouring him by way of a European
exposition of his works. The five-month interactive show, ‘Realm of Nek Chand’, beginning
October will be held at leading museums in Switzerland, Belgium, France and Italy. “The biggest
reward is walking through the garden and seeing people enjoy my creation,” Nek Chand says
(ii) Who was the “untutored genius who created a paradise” and what is the nature of his
contribution to art?
Ans. Nek Chand, an Indian hailing from Chandigarh, took his style of raw art to an unimaginable
level of excellence. many years ago by building the ‘Rock Garden’ using stones, broken crockery
and recycled material. Nek Chand’s contribution is an extremely creative example of ‘raw art’.Nek
Chand has taken it to dizzying heights. Recognising his art as “an outstanding testimony of the
difference a single man can make when he lives his dream”.
TALKING ABOUT THE TEXT
Discuss the following statements in groups of four.
1. “The Emperor may rule over the territory he has conquered, but only the artist knows the way
within.”
Ans:- This sentence explains the fact that even though an Emperor might rule an entire kingdom
and have power over his conquered territory, only an artist would be able to go beyond any
material appearance. Only an artist would be able to go beyond any material appearance. He
knows both the path and the method of the mysterious work of the universe.
2. “The landscape is an inner one, a spiritual and conceptual space.”
Ans:- The sentence symbolises the Chinese art that Chinese artists wants his viewers to see the
painting for every point so that they can understand the meaning of their painting not from the eyes
but from their minds and can understand the inner life and spirit of that painting.It is a landscape
created by the artist to travel up and down, and back again, through the viewer’s eyes. The
landscape is not `real’ and can be reached from any point.
Landscape of the Soul Extra Questions and Answers Short Answer Type
1.Briefly narrate the story of the Emperor and the Chinese artist.
Answer:A painter Wu Daozi, who lived in the eighth century was asked to paint a landscape by the
Tang Emperor Xuanzong, to decorate a palace wall. The artist concealed his work behind a screen,
so that only the Emperor would see it. For a long time, the Emperor admired the wonderful scene.
One day the painter showed him a cave at the foot of the mountain, and said that a spirit dwelt
there. The painter clapped his hands, and the entrance to the cave opened. He then entered the cave
and the entrance closed behind him. Since then nothing is known of the artist or the painting as the
painting vanished off the wall.
2.How did stories such as the one about Wu Daozi play an important role in China’s classical
education?
Answer:Such stories played a significant part in China’s classical education. They helped the
master to guide his pupil in the right direction. They were not merely tales, but were deeply
illuminating of the essence of art. The books of Confucius and Zhuangzi are full of such stories.
They reveal that art was considered the essence of inner life and spirit in Asia.
3.Why did the artist agree to get his daughter married to the blacksmith?
Answer:Initially the artist was against the blacksmith, Quinten Metsys, marrying his daughter.
However, one day Quinten slyly sneaked into the painter’s studio and painted a fly on his latest
panel, that was so realistic that the master tried to swat it away. The artist was so impressed that he
admitted Quinten as an apprentice into his studio and let him marry his beloved.
4.What is the difference between the Chinese and European art?
Answer:The Chinese and European art are different as the European art is trying to achieve a
perfect, illusionistic likeness in Europe, and the Chinese the essence of inner life and spirit in Asia.
While the European wants you to look at the landscape through his eyes, the Chinese painter wants
you to enter it from any point, then travel in it. He creates a path for your eyes to travel up and
down, then back again, in a leisurely movement.
5.How does shanshui express the Daoist view of the universe?
Answer:Shanshui means ‘mountainwater.’ It expresses the Daoist view. The mountain is Yang and
it stretches vertically towards Heaven. It is stable, warm, and dry in the sun, while the water is Yin.
It is horizontal and resting on the earth, fluid, moist and cool. The interaction of Yin, the receiver,
feminine aspect of universal energy, and Yang, active and masculine, is the fundamental belief of
Daoism.
6.What is lacking in Shanshui?
Answer:The third element, the Middle Void where their interaction takes place, is lacking in
Shanshui. The Middle Void is indispensable. Hence nothing can happen without it. This is the
reason why the white, unpainted space in Chinese landscape is important. This is also where Man
finds a fundamental role, in that space between Heaven and Earth, he becomes the medium of
communication between both poles of the universe.
7.How is the pranayama compared to the Middle void?
Answer:The Middle Void is vital as nothing can happen without it. This is the reason why the white,
unpainted space in Chinese landscape is imperative. This is also where Man finds a fundamental
role, in the yogic practice of pranayama we breathe in, retain and breathe out. The suspension of
breath is the Void where meditation occurs.
8.How did the theory of ‘brut art’ put forward by Jean Dubuffet get credence?
Answer:French painter Jean Dubuffet challenged the concept of ‘art brut’ in the 1940s. Before that
the art of the untrained visionary was of minor interest. At about the same time ‘an untutored
genius was creating paradise’. This was none other than Nek Chand, who cleared a little patch of
jungle to make himself a garden sculpted with stone and recycled material known to the world
today as the Rock Garden, at Chandigarh.
Landscape of the Soul Extra Questions and Answers Long Answer Type
Question 1.Narrate the tale of the Chinese Emperor and the artist. What message does the story
convey?
Answer:Tang Emperor Xuanzong asked the painter Wu Daozi, to make a landscape to decorate a
palace wall. The artist had hidden his work behind a screen, so only the Emperor would see it. The
Emperor, for a long time, admired the wonderful scene, discovering forests, high mountains,
waterfalls, clouds floating in an immense sky, men on hilly paths, birds in flight. One day the
painter showed him a cave, at the foot of the mountain.
He said that a spirit lived there. Just then, the painter clapped his hands, and the entrance to the
cave opened. The artist said that it was infinitely beautiful inside and he entered the cave. The
entrance closed behind him. Since then nothing has been known of Wu Daozi.
The story underlines the message that the Emperor was only interested appreciating the outer
appearance of the painting but the artist makes known to him the true meaning of his work. The
Emperor admires the territory while the artist is filled with the ‘spirit’ within.
Question 2.Narrate the anecdote that brings out that Europeans endeavoured to achieve ‘a perfect,
illusionistic likeness’.
Answer:In fifteenth century lived a blacksmith named Quinten Metsys who fell in love with a
painter’s daughter. The father, being an artist, would not accept a son-in-law who was a blacksmith.
So Quinten crept into the painter’s studio and painted a fly on his latest board. It seemed so real
that even the artist thought it was real and tried to swat it away.
It was then he realised what had happened. He immediately took Quinten as a trainee into his
studio. Quinten then married his beloved and went on to become one of the most famous painters of
his age.This story exemplifies what European form of art was trying to achieve. They wanted a
perfect, illusionistic likeness.
Question 3.How do the Chinese expect the people to view the horizontal scroll? Why?
Answer:Unlike European art, Chinese art is meant to be metaphorical. An artist in China would
not like the onlooker to look at a particular landscape from a specific angle. The Chinese painter
does not choose a specific viewpoint. One can enter his landscape from any point, and then travel in
it. The artist creates a course for your eyes to journey up and down, then back again, at an
unhurried pace.
This is even truer of the horizontal scroll. The action of slowly opening one section of the painting,
then rolling it up to move on to the other, adds a dimension of time which is unknown in any other
form of painting. It necessitates the active contribution of the viewer. It is the viewer who decides at
what speed he will travel through the painting. The interaction is physical as well as mental. The
Chinese painter wants you to enter his mind. The landscape is an inner one, a spiritual and
abstract.
Question 4.What was the revolutionary idea in art that was put forward by Jean Dubuffet? How
did an Indian artist support his theory?
Answer:Before the French painter Jean Dubuffet, challenged the concept of ‘art brut’ in the 1940s,
people were not interested in the art of the untutored creative thinkers. It was he who defied this
concept. As a consequence this ‘outsider art’ has steadily become the fastest growing area of
interest in modem art worldwide. He felt that there are artists who have received no formal
training, yet show talent and artistic insight. Their works are a motivating contrast to a lot of
conventional ones.
At the time Dubuffet was advocating his theory, in India ‘an untutored genius was creating
paradise’. Nek Chand made one of the biggest contributions by clearing a little patch of jungle to
make himself a garden sculpted with stone and recycled material. This garden is known to the
world today as the Rock Garden at Chandigarh.
Question 5. Nek Chand’s work is acclaimed as the work of a genius and is appreciated world over.
Justify.
Answer:Nek Chand’s work is acknowledged as India’s biggest contribution to outsider art. The
fiftieth issue of Raw Vision, a UK-based magazine that initiated the outsider art publications,
featured Nek Chand, and his Rock Garden sculpture ‘Women by the Waterfall’ on its anniversary
issue’s cover. It reported how Nek Chand had used every thing from a tin to a sink to a broken
down car to create a work of art that took him to the pinnacles of glory.
The Swiss Commission for UNESCO applauded his art as ‘an outstanding testimony of the
difference a single man can make when he lives his dream’, and decided to honour him. They
decided to put up an exhibition of his works. The five-month interactive show, ‘Realm of Nek
Chand’, is to begin in October. It is to be held at leading museums in Switzerland, Belgium, France
and Italy. However, the greatest honour for him is seeing people enjoy the creation.
